Emergency Medicine

Accidents or emergencies can happen at any time, particularly with children.  Fortunately, most injuries and accidents are not life-threatening, but they still require expert and fast treatment.

Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital’s Emergency Department provides responsive, high-quality emergency care, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Emergency Department is state-of-the-art and features a private triage station, private patient rooms and a children’s playroom.

Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital is a Level II Trauma Center. This designation means that our board-certified emergency medicine physicians are trained and equipped to stabilize patients who have undergone major trauma or who are suffering a heart attack, stroke or other health emergency.

In the area of pediatric emergency care, we hold a distinguished pediatric certification — Emergency Department Approved for Pediatrics — awarded by Emergency Medical Services for Children in conjunction with the Illinois Department of Public Health. This certification means we are able to provide superior emergency care to children in the form of preventative, acute and rehabilitative services.

Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital is the only hospital in Lake County with Children’s Memorial Hospital pediatric specialists on staff 24/7 to immediately assist in the care of ill children or admit them to the hospital. All our Emergency Department nurses are certified in pediatric advanced life support.

Patients are seen in order of the severity of their condition. Depending on the severity of your child's illness or injury and the bed availability within the emergency department, you may be asked to wait or be immediately taken to an exam room. If the problem is minor, your child may be seen by a nurse practitioner, but you may always request a physician.

Parents who come to the hospital should arrive in our Emergency Department entrance.  You will be required to provide a medical history and a medication list for your child upon arrival. 

Grayslake Emergency Center

In October 2009, the Grayslake Acute Care Center was licensed as a Freestanding Emergency Center (FEC).  It continues to be open 24/7.

As an Emergency Center, we can now treat a wider range of injuries and provide emergency care for patients in western Lake County. We can also accept basic life support (BLS) ambulance transports with emergency patients.

The new center has 14 emergency treatment beds, staffed by the same board-certified emergency physicians, nurse practitioners, advanced life support technicians and certified nurses who provide skilled care at the Emergency Department on Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital’s main campus.

In addition to the Emergency Center, the Grayslake campus continues to offer outpatient services:

• Advanced diagnostic imaging
• Cardiology
• Physical therapy
• Medical offices for physicians

An ambulance is on-site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in Grayslake to transport those patients to Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital or other area hospitals, if needed.

When to Seek Emergency Care

Seek treatment from an Emergency Room if your child experiences:

• Poisoning
• Abdominal pain with fever
• Chest or upper abdominal pain or pressure
• Severe burns
• Excessive bleeding
• Dehydration
• Fainting or loss of consciousness
• Stroke
• Severe head wound
• Major trauma
• Difficulty breathing or bluish look around the mouth
• Sudden dizziness or weakness
• Seizures
• Possible suicide or mental disorder
• Foreign object swallowed or otherwise lodged in the body
• Severe and/or persistent vomiting

Call 9-1-1 if:

• Your child has a life threatening injury/illness
• Your child experiences head, neck or back trauma, or other major trauma
• Your child needs medical attention before you can get to the hospital, or you have doubts about your ability to drive your child safely to the emergency room
• You have physical limitations preventing you from getting your child to the hospital

Parents: If you are ever concerned that your child may need to go to the Emergency Department before you can arrive, complete this Parental Consent: Emergency Release form and leave it where it can be found easily by a teacher, neighbor or babysitter.